Roach question

[spec]

Madagascar hissing cockroaches, are these a reliable and good food source for my pacmans? I can't find the dubia roaches around where i live and I've found this species and was just wondering

[Jace]

I currently have a small colony of these consisting of 7 females and 4 males, with a variety of young. Though I was originally told they are difficult to breed, I have had two successful batches birthed in the last year (28 babies in the first and 50+ in the second). The adults are extremely hard on the outside and their size makes them hard to be a food source. The babies, however, are a tasty and nutritious food supply, and are soft enough that I don't worry about impaction from feeding too many.

A couple of things I have discovered from personal experience:
-the babies can get out of anything and I have had more than my share of escapees.
-it will take time to establish a decent size colony where you will have a steady supply of young; the most I have been able to get my main female to breed is twice a year.
-temperature is a big factor in success.
-once a female is carrying the egg sac, stress (such as handling, extreme temperature changes, over-crowding etc) will cause her to expell the egg case.

I have really enjoyed these guys both as a pet and as a food source, but it has definitely been a learning experience!!

[spec]

Thats good news, I had bought a male and female yesterday then after playing witht them for a while, I noticed the hard exoskeleton, which is why I asked. Should take me close to 2 months to get some babies poppin unless she allready is carrying. When the babies molt seems to be when they're the softest fro the pictures.Thanks for your reply by the way!

[Jace]

Babies stay pretty soft, right up until they reach about 1 1'2" long...then they really begin to toughen up. Until then, even though they are dark and look exactly like mini adults, they are quite soft. I have accidently squished a few trying to pick them up. They are extremely fragile right after a molt. If you think your female is carrying, make sure the tank is fairly warm all the time to ensure she will incubate the egg case properly. If she hasn't yet taken a fertile egg case, watch, particularly in the late evenings, early mornings and you might be able to see her...pardon the expression...suck it in. It will take approximately 3 months for her to give live birth. It will take longer if the temperature is not optimal. I included some pics for you-it really is amazing to witness!

[spec]

Whats a really good way to keep the temp up at a desired °?

[Jace]

During the summer, because I live in a desert-like climate, room temperature was more than enough. Now that it is fall/winter and our house is on the cool side, I have placed them on the fridge. The amount of heat coming from there is amazing! However, you can easily set up a red light heat lamp and position it for the right temperature. I had the best results with the second batch and they were kept at a constant temperaure of 82-85 degrees.

The female will eat and drink more, not only because of the heat, but because she is carrying around extra weight. Mine loved oranges, cucumbers, tomatoes and peeled apples. Though the food provided lots of moisture, I also included cricket jelly at all times and all my cockroaches will use it.

Baby cockroaches will drown in the tiniest bit of liquid, which is why I removed all water. They also drowned in a rather juicy tomato slice I placed in their dish...three of them I lost. I began cutting up a variety of veggies and fruit and leaving them in the fridge for 12-24 hours to create a dry crust on the outer part. This allowed no juices to pool, but the adults had no issues getting into them and enjoying them. Babies don't eat as often as the adults (they eat their moltings as they shed and because they molt lots, they seldom need other food) but they will stick check out anything in the setup. I learned the hard way, unfortunately, that there really are killer tomatoes!!

[vince]

Madagascar hissing cockroaches, are these a reliable and good food source for my pacmans? I can't find the dubia roaches around where i live and I've found this species and was just wondering

Hi just caught your thread try giant cave cockroaches, really prolific give birth to live young , can't climb glass or plastic and babies get very big before they change into adults my large Tiger Salamanders go mad on them, feed on fresh fruit and flake fish food IF YOU FEED THEM ON ORANGES, your colony smells really nice. I breed hissing cockroaches and dubai ,these guys beat them all for being prolific, Keep them in a large plastic tub like in the cheap vivarium thread on a heat pad or in front of a radiator and bobs your uncle millions [DONT USE THE ADULTS AS THEY KEEP YOUR COLONY GOING ]

[vince]

Go to Allpet Roaches for info